We are coming to Tahoe in January, arriving at the Reno airport. We live in Florida and are not used to driving in snow. Could someone up there tell me about driving around in the winter.

If you're planning to rent a car, you'd better check your insurance ahead of time! If you've never dealt with those conditions, LET SOMEONE ELSE DO THE DRIVING!

Susan,
You might want to make transportation arrangements other than a rental car for Jan. in Tahoe if you don't have any experience driving in winter conditions. Airport shuttles and hotel shuttles might save you a lot of anxiety!

I have a few hints that I always practice. I live in WI, so we get tons of snow each year.

One thing to remember is that when you are in snowy areas, the cities prepare for it - as soon as it starts snowing the cities get crews out to start plowing, so it's not like you will always be driving on just snow.

At the same time though you need to prepare for snowy roads. My best piece of advice is always try to get a feel for what the roads are like immediately by testing your breaks and seeing how the car reacts. For example, I grew up on a road w/ no traffic and I would always try slowing down to an almost stop each morning way before i had to get to the stop sign so i would know how long it takes so when i had to sto for real i was prepared for how long it would take.

Also, if you are ever caught in a situation where it's snowing and you can't really see, just keep your eye on the lower right hand corner for the line on the road - just like you would in a rain storm or a foggy morning.

I'm sure you will do fine, just go slow, be patiant and enjoy the change of seasons!

Hope this helped!

Susan & Becca,
The difference between driving in WI in the winter & the Tahoe area is the potential for hazardous mtn. conditions. I don't want to discourage you but there are conditions when road closures are in effect due to heavy snowfall, high winds w/ poor visibility, avalanche danger, etc. Conditions where 4 wheel drive or snow chains are mandatory are fairly common during storms. If you have never experienced these types of conditions it can be a little stressful out on the road!